Interior –

Sound map – Canteen digitallySound map – Canteen hand drawn

Canteen (30 degrees) – There was a few noises for the mic to pick up such as the noise of the fridge humming, keys rattling and different tones of voices in background. It was interesting to see how much using the 30-degree pattern pick up. As this was more of a narrow pattern it could only pick up the ambient that was nearer to the microphone rather than further away.

Canteen (150 degrees) – If we changed the pickup range to 150 degrees there were a few more different sounds added whilst recording the audio such as the till tray moving with money shaking in it. This had more of various sounds picked up than before hand such as you could slightly here the talking of the coffee shop or within the main hall of the college.

Sound map – Canteen hand drawnSound map – Canteen digitally

A classroom (30 degrees) – It was a noisy space to begin. this only picked up the foreground sounds rather than ones that were in the background. With hearing beforehand people talking, keyboards typing, computer mouse’s clicking, paper rustling and pens tapping. The overall result was that it was very limited as it was picking up the ambient that was closer to the table where the mic was placed.

A classroom (150 degrees) – This was surprisingly quieter than the one before with having to turn up the mics sensitivity to 6 instead of 2 this was so then I could hear the audio more, this only picked up key elements such as the computer mouse clicking and the paper rustling.

Exterior –

Sound map – Canteen digitallySound map – Canteen digitally

Outside student union (30 degrees) – With using the 30 degree pick up pattern this was again the same response as the 30 degrees in the classroom which the mic only picked up more specific sounds like the sound of the table tennis ball going back and forth rather than the talking.

Outside student union (150 degrees) – This was opposite towards the 30 degree used outside of the student union which was in the same place this picked up the vocal rather than the more specific sounds.

Sound map – Canteen digitallySound map – Canteen digitally

Outside main entrance (30 degrees) – I could, first of all, I could hear the ambient of birds, talking and cars driving passed. The overall result was that the mic did pick up most of the ambient. However, the sounds that were closer seemed quieter.

Outside main entrance (150 degrees) – Before testing out the pickup pattern there was similar sounds that were heard when testing the 30 degrees pattern. Such as birds , talking and cars driving past. The overall result was that the ambient was much clearer than the 30 degrees, with being able to also hear the rustling of the trees and the seagulls that were further away from the positioning of the mic .

Overall I have learned the different scales of how the pickup pattern works and is used in specific scenes and why we also use different microphone for various shots.

Using and creating Foley –

During this task, we were given the chance to try to create Foley this was interesting to see how Foley artists create a specific sound whether that is objects, movement, clothing or vocal audio. Each of these are produced for the purpose of creating more emotion or drama and this is also because on most shoots they record the visuals separately from the sound.

We started off with going to various places to test out the type of sound it gives out. Such as a large area for echo or a smaller space for a denser sound for the Foley.

Human voice – At first we were going to just whisper to create a dramatic effect to the Foley which would be used as in film and television genres like, Horror, Crime, Thriller or Sci-fi we used the pickup pattern of mono this is so then it can cancel out the background of the sound. However, we changed this because it didn’t work as well as we thought, so we used one of our advantages which was to speak in a different language as one person in the group could speak French the purpose of this was to use this in similar genres, we started out with. The reason for this is because in many films not everyone speaks English or a language we may not understand.

Footsteps – We recorded our sound through using a 30 degree pick up so then it still cancels out the background but still has that echo effect that we wanted to include. So then we can create this audio piece to be dramatic. We created the sound of footsteps by stomping whilst going down the stairs in an empty space. This could be used whilst going down an attic or climbing up the stairs but in a drowsy/tired way which has a slower pace than when you are energetic.

Rain – I found this was one of the difficult sounds to create and although it may sound good whilst playing it back and listing to the audio but sometimes it doesn’t come out the way it was planned. We used the stair railing which was metal so it will give off a slight effect of what rain sounds like whilst falling onto some kind of metal or sometimes it’s what it sounds like when falling onto the roof. I think maybe next time we could have different objects just in case the one we used may sound good when listening to it but not when you’re playing it back on the computer.

Spaceship– The main idea was the sound of a spaceship trying to start up that you may hear in some fiction film such as Star Wars (1997) or Star Trek (2009) So we used the sound of when a lift closes. Although if I was creating Foley professionally I would add more audio to the layer so then it will sound futuristic.

Horse hooves – We used our feet like we did for the footsteps, as one of us had a heel on their shoe it gave us that advantage to use it on the side of the stairs we had used for the footsteps. So then It sounded like a horse galloping past with it being in the distance and then drawing the sound closer to the mic.

Sound of choice – Mythical creature

Whilst we were testing out different objects to use for the spaceship effect we used the sound of the automatic doors closing by recording the doorway. With the air compression, it created a louder and squeakier effect. This is the type of creature that will be used in the genre of sci-fi films such as Jurassic park (1979) and Alien (1979).

Overall thoughts on task –

Overall I learned how much of a skill being a Foley artist is and how much time you do need to create these sounds, I found it interesting to see how Foley artists think of these different objects that may not look like they could work but can. Being a Foley artist is about experimenting with different objects and textures to create more drama to the scene. Also,we did create more sounds rather than just the ones we got told to do so then we can look further into how to make different sounds and it makes us think about the pace/rhythm or the ambiance around the focus.

Clock – This came from the idea of big ben when it hits 12 pm and it has a loud echo that spreads a crossed most of the city, London. So,we used a metal railing that we had used for the footsteps to try to create that exact effect.

Checkout scanner – When testing sounds for the space ship we went in a lift so then we could maybe use the noise of the door closing. However, it turned out to sound like the annoying beep of a scanner that you would hear in a shop. every time it scans every single item.

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